Tube socket



Aug. 9, 1932. M. ALDEN 1,871,292

TUBE SOCKET Filed Sept. 23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 9, 1932.

M. ALDEN TUBE SOCKET Filed Sept. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Wwmiiwa INVENTOR Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT orricr. r

'MILTON ALDEN, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESN E ASSIGN- MENTS, TO RADIO INVENTIONS, IN 0. A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TUBE SOCKET Application filed September 23, 1926. Serial No. 187,286.

My invention relates to improvements in means for detachably holding and electrically contacting with removable electrical device such as vacuum tubes, plug connectors and the like. Such means .are frequently termed sockets.

One object of my invention is to provide a socket construction which may be manufactured in substantially any desired. length from which may be cut a length consisting of the desired number of individual groups of connections, or sockets.

Another object is to provide a socket which will accommodate a tube and hold it securely in place regardless of the length of the tube prongs.

Another object is to provide a multiple socket structure in which similar terminals of a number of sockets may be connected together by a single unbroken current carrying stri A iiother object is to provide a multiple socket construction having no exposed conducting elements upon its outer surface thus avoiding the possibility of electrical shocks when replacing tubes operating on high volta e.

Another object is to provide a socket construction in which the contacting parts are clamped or housed between an insulating strip member and an insulating channel member thus largely doing away with screws, tubular rivets and the like thereby reducing the number of parts required in the complete assembly.

Another object is to provide a construction in which an integral one-piece conducting strip serves both as a contact with the tube prongs and as a lead to the associated apparatus, thus eliminating a large number of soldered or compressive joints.

Another object is to provide a molded socket panel of such section as will readily form a cover to a box or trough which may contain transformers, tuning elements, or other associated apparatus.

Another object is to provide a multiple socket construction having suitable plane surfaces along its outer edges upon which may be mounted clips for holding grid leaks, resistors or the like.

The socket construction disclosed in my present invention comprises top and bottom insulating plates having registering apertures with contacting and conducting strips clamped between these plates terminating in these apertures and serving as contacts for the pins of the tubes or other detachable electrical devices. Y

ese apertures may be arranged in any desir d manner so as to properly co-act with the terminal pins of the tubes or other devices to be used. Theseplates may also be provided with any number of groups of apertures depending on the number of tubes to be accommodated. Some of the contacting and conducting strips may run continuously from one group to another with integral branches forming contacts in appropriate apertures of the various groups.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a multiple socket of one form of my invention with the upper plate partially broken away.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section illustrating the method of making contact With the tube prong and also the method of bringing out the integral leads.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an integral lead and contact.

Figure 6 is atop view of another modification of my invention.

Figure 7 is a side view of the modification shown in Figure 6 broken away so as to show a partial section.

Figure 8 is an enlarged bottom view of one socket element of the modification shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure'9 is an enlarged section of Figure 8 along the line 9-9.

Figure 10 is a top plan view of still an other modification of my invention. 7

Figure 11 is an enlarged section of a part of Figure 10 along the line 11-11.

Referring to sheet 1, the-front or top plate 12 is secured to the rear or bottom plate.13

in any suitable manner such as by one or more bolts 14. Theseplates' are preferably formed of insulating material and provided with apertures 15 and 16 which register with each other. These apertures are arranged in groups 17 spaced apart at any desired distance. The size and arrangement of these apertures will of course be such as to accommodate the desired type of tube, and the construction is such as to permit of a consider able range of variation as to size and spacing of pins, so that this construction is adaptable to various types of vacuum tubes. The contacts such as 18, 19, 20 and 21 are preferably formed as bent ends of the strips 23, 23' etc. which project downward into apertures such as 16 where they are engaged by the pins of the tube as the pins are inserted. These strips 23 may be of any length and are adapted to lead off to the terminals of associated apparatus to effect direct connec tion between such apparatus and the contact leads such as 25. Some of these strips are led out individually through apertures connecting strip 27 which may be severed where desired and also have their individual leads 28, so that similar terminals of the various groups may be made common or not, as desired.

In order to obtain a maximum spacing of the connecting strips 27 I endeavor to arrange the groups of apertures 17 so that the lines connecting corresponding apertures in each group are parallel but spaced apart from each other. In this way adequate space is left for the longitudinal connecting strip.

It will be observed that the front or top plate 12 on its lower side carries two small seating grooves 29 and 29 thus preventing the lower surface of the plate 12 from touching the upper surface of the plate 13. This construction allows room for the arched bends 30, and 31 of the contact strips, such as 23 and allows greater flexibility of the spring contacts and makes it adaptable to m'anufac turing variations in the sizes and positioning of the vacuum tube pins. It will also be observed that the. contact strips not having a common connecting member are bent at right angles and brought out of apertures such as 26 thus insuring their firm anchorage within the structure without auxiliary securing means.

The openings 16 in the lower strip are preferably somewhat elongated as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 so as to allow for free spring action of the contact tops 21..

The construction described may be utilized in many different forms for any number of sbckets and as a socket construction aloneor as a socket construction and cover plate, ow-

upon its upper sur ace precludes imperfectinsulation from collection of dust and dampness. J

In'the modification shown in Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 a single top plate 35 is shown and combined contacting and conducting strips 36, 37, 38 and 39 are held against the top plate by the discor plate 40 containing the perforations 41 which register with the perforations 42 and with the prongs of the vacuum tube (not shown). This disc 40 is held in place by a screw, rivet or bolt 43 and is positioned by the integral boss 44 engaging in the depression 45 which may be moulded in the lower side of the top plate. The disc 40 is provided in its upper surface with four shal low radial grooves 46 of rectangular section preferably of a depth slightly less than the thickness of the conducting and contacting strips which serve to hold these strips firmly in place. The top plate is long enough to accommodate any number of tubes and a separate bottom disc or plate is provided for each tube.

In the form shown in Figures 10 and 11 i the bottomplate 50 is continuous and a separate top plate or disc 51 is provided for each tube socket and secilred by a screw or rivet 52. The bottom plate has two sets of openings 53 and 54 for the conducting strips 55 and their contact tips 56 respectively. I The top disc 51 has holes 57 for the tube prongs and serves to hold the conductors in place.

.I claim:

1. Aholder for vacuum tubes comprising two insulating plates, one of said plates of channel form, means integral with one of said plates adapted to maintain a free space. between said plates, a number ofgroups of.

perforations in said plates registering with each other, said perforations registering with the prongs of the vacuum tubes to be inserted, means for clamping said plates one against the other, contacting means projectinginto said perforations and clamped between said plates and adapted to make contact with said prongs, and means integral with said contacting means for effecting connections with associated apparatus.

2. In a holder for vacuum tubes, two insulating plates, one of said plates having plane surfaces in more than two planes, a number of similar groups of perforations in said plates, said groups and said perforations registering with each other and with the prongs of vacuum tubes to be inserted, means for holding said plates so that their surfaces V sulating plates, a number of similar are parallel, means integral with one of said plates for maintaining a separation between said plates, contacting means projecting into said perforations and clamped between said plates adapted to make contact with said prongs, means integral with said contacting means for eifecting connections with associated apparatus, and conducting means integral with a plurality of said contacting means.

3. A holder for vacuum tubes comprising two plates of insulating material, a number of apertures in said plates registering with each other, said apertures registering with the prongs of the vacuum tubes to be inserted, means for holding said plates one against the other so that their surfaces are parallel,

contacting means projecting in said apertures and adapted to make contact with said prongs, means integral with'said contacting means for electrically connecting associated apparatus with said contacting means, conducting means integral with a plurality of said contacting means, and means independent of the contacts for insuring a free space longitudinally between said plates.

4. In a holder for vacuum tubes, two ingroups of perforations in said plates, said groups and said perforations registering with each other and with the prongs ofthe vacuum tubes to be inserted, means for holding said plates so that their surfaces are parallel, contacting means projecting in said perforations and clamped between said plates and adapted to make contact with said prongs, means integral with said contacting means for effecting connections with associated apparatus,

conducting means integral with a plurality of said contacting means, and means integral with one of said plates tending to insure longitudinal alignment of said late with a con tainer when said plate functions as a wall of said container.

' MILTON ALDEN. 

